The Gadot Lookout in the Golan Heights

The Gadot Lookout in the Golan Heights

Rick Steves

The Gadot Lookout in the Golan Heights overlooks the upper Jordan River valley, and is on the border of the present UN buffer zone with Syria. Since 1967, Israel has controlled the Golan Heights. As long as things are peaceful, the trenches and barbed wire here provide a kind of commando playground for visiting Israelis. Another vantage point, on Mount Bental, looks down on the road to the Syrian capital, Damascus — just 35 miles to the north. The cafe atop Mount Bental is named "Coffee Annan," a clever reminder that it was United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan who once led the UN troops stationed below. And, Annan means "clouds" in Hebrew — so it's "coffee above the clouds."

The Gadot Lookout in the Golan Heights overlooks the upper Jordan River valley, and is on the border of the present UN buffer zone with Syria. Since 1967, Israel has controlled the Golan Heights. As long as things are peaceful, the trenches and barbed wire here provide a kind of commando playground for visiting Israelis. Another vantage point, on Mount Bental, looks down on the road to the Syrian capital, Damascus — just 35 miles to the north. The cafe atop Mount Bental is named "Coffee Annan," a clever reminder that it was United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan who once led the UN troops stationed below. And, Annan means "clouds" in Hebrew — so it's "coffee above the clouds." (Rick Steves)

The Gadot Lookout in the Golan Heights overlooks the upper Jordan River valley, and is on the border of the present UN buffer zone with Syria. Since 1967, Israel has controlled the Golan Heights. As long as things are peaceful, the trenches and barbed wire here provide a kind of commando playground for visiting Israelis. Another vantage point, on Mount Bental, looks down on the road to the Syrian capital, Damascus — just 35 miles to the north. The cafe atop Mount Bental is named "Coffee Annan," a clever reminder that it was United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan who once led the UN troops stationed below. And, Annan means "clouds" in Hebrew — so it's "coffee above the clouds."